Wayne is an American action comedystreaming television series created by Shawn Simmons that premiered on January 16, 2019, on YouTube Premium. The series stars Mark McKenna, Ciara Bravo, and Joshua J. Williams and it follows a teenage boy who sets out to retrieve his late father's stolen car with the help of a girl he has a crush on.
On August 16, 2019, the series was cancelled after one season.[1] The show was added to Amazon Prime Video on November 6, 2020 but has since been removed.[2]
Premise
Wayne starts in Brockton, Massachusetts in present day. The titular character "sets out on a dirt bike with his new crush Del to take back the 1979 Pontiac Trans Am that was stolen from his father before he died." The car is in Ocala, Florida. Wayne, Del, and a host of oddball characters go on a road trip to get it back. "It is Wayne and Del against the world."[3]
Cast and characters
Main
Mark McKenna as Wayne McCullough Jr.,[4] a teenage boy who attempts to retrieve his late father's stolen car.
Ciara Bravo as Delilah "Del" Luccetti,[4][5] a girl from Brockton for whom Wayne develops feelings.
Wayne, a violent teenager from Brockton, MA, is immediately taken with Del, a girl who shows up on his doorstep selling cookies. While talking to Del, Wayne is ambushed by Del's father and older brothers, where they beat him brutally. When Wayne's father dies from cancer, Wayne burns down his house with his father's corpse still in it, then goes to Del's house. He invites her to drive to Florida to retrieve Wayne's father's 1979 Pontiac Trans Am. He is confronted by her family again, but fights them and bites off her dad's nose.
Del starts to have doubts about Wayne when he reveals that he does not know where they are going and fails to complete a simple task for her. Del buys a bus ticket to Los Angeles as a backup plan, getting into a fight with a waitress and cocaine addict named Tracey, with whom she eventually forms a bond. Convinced Del has abandoned him, Wayne heads back to their camp dejectedly. After talking to two kids who were trying to steal his things, Wayne tries to find Del with help from the two kids but gets kidnapped by Kyra and Jamie. Del and Tracey's help save Wayne, and they continue on their way. Meanwhile, Wayne's best friend, his principal, Del's father and brothers, and two Brockton police officers (Sergeant Geller and Officer Jay) all set off to pursue Wayne and Del.
Wayne and Del take shelter at a motel and soon get caught up with some spring break bound college students. After fleeing the local police, they quickly realize that they have been robbed. Meanwhile, Orlando convinces Principal Cole to help him find Wayne after Orlando realizes that Del's family may kill Wayne.
Wayne and Del each attempt to make some money. Wayne gets a job as a day laborer on a construction site while Del tries to pawn some of their belongings. Wayne attacks his employer after learning that he was trying to deport the immigrant workers to Mexico, nailing the man's hands to his van. Del meets a grieving widow and decides that she and Wayne should go to the husband's funeral. Meanwhile, Carl and Teddy celebrate their birthday whilst their father is drunk. They come to realize he has mistreated them and agree to beat him up, but get a message from Del wishing them a happy birthday and they decide to put their problems with their father aside so they can find her.
5
"Chapter Five: Del"
Tessa Hoffe
Lauren Houseman
January 16, 2019 (2019-01-16)
Flashbacks show Del's family life a year before meeting Wayne and how she tries to fit in at school in spite of her con artist mother. Her family is dysfunctional, but they mean well and make an effort for her as seen when they try to help her when she tries to run for class president. Following her mother's death, Del's father descends deeper into alcoholism, her father and brothers become more cruel, and she becomes depressed and develops a cynical personality.
When Del is mistaken for a truant at a school in Georgia, she befriends some of the locals and considers staying. She and Wayne are invited to a dance, and while getting ready, Wayne notices the bus ticket, and leaves Del. After some convincing, Wayne attends the dance, and the two reconcile. They share a tender moment, but are interrupted when Del's family catch up with them, ambushing the two. However, Wayne is saved by the locals, and drives away with Del. Meanwhile, Orlando helps his principal do well on his speech in his conference.
7
"Chapter Seven: It'll Last Forever"
Stephanie Laing
Shawn Simmons
January 16, 2019 (2019-01-16)
Following the brawl at the school dance, Del's new friends force Wayne to take painkillers when he refuses to go to the emergency room. Later, Wayne tells Del that her father is dying in the hospital after he hears about it on the news. She proceeds to ask him to take her there to see her father. It turns out to be a trap by the police to catch them, but Del wants to visit him anyway. Despite admitting that Wayne hates hospitals because of his father's cancer, he agrees to help her sneak in. They share a kiss in the morgue, and Del visits her father. She gives him a drink, and tells him that she is going away. While there, Wayne and Del encounter Geller, and escape, prompting Geller to become firmer in his commitment to catching Wayne.
Wayne and Del finally reach Ocala, FL, and find his father's car by chance at a gas station. Wayne tracks it down and is unexpectedly reunited with his mother. Wayne also meets his step brother, Reggie, and stepfather, Calvin. Wayne tries to bond with his mother while Del tries to warn him that she will hurt him again. Wayne confronts Del about the bus ticket she bought earlier, and Del reveals that was her backup plan. Meanwhile, Orlando and Principal Cole get sidetracked at a strip club.
Del abandons Wayne and strikes out on her own. When Wayne tries to bond with his mother, his mother reveals he has to leave. Furious, he trashes the house and plans to steal back his father's car and go after Del. Unfortunately, he is caught by Calvin and Reggie. Meanwhile, Orlando and Cole narrowly avoid hitting a dog and stumble upon a clue to Wayne's whereabouts as well as finding Del. While meeting Del, she and Orlando bond, where Orlando reveals how he and Wayne became best friends. Wayne had come to him seeking help to deal with a group of bullies blackmailing a girl with a video. When Del asks what was in the video, and Orlando says it was a woman high on drugs, Del realizes she was the girl he helped. Del then decides to rescue Wayne with Orlando and Principal Cole. Geller and Jay find Wayne, but Reggie knocks out Jay. While forced into a fight with Calvin, Geller reveals that he had served 817 days in prison for a crime he did not commit while in Thailand, where he was forced to learn how to fight in order to survive. He defeats Calvin in a one-on-one fight (with some help from Wayne) and frees Wayne. However, Geller tells Wayne that he is under arrest.
10
"Chapter Ten: Buckle the F**k Up"
Steve Pink
Shawn Simmons, Greg Coolidge, & Kirk Ward
January 16, 2019 (2019-01-16)
Wayne is held at the Ocala police station, where Geller finally makes Wayne realize the error of his ways, and that he needs Del. After catching up with Wayne's mom, Del asks her where he is, then goes after him. Geller gets a report on a crime scene, but it turns out to be a ruse for Reggie to get the car after it was impounded. Reggie assaults the only cop left at the station, and steals the keys. Before leaving, he sees Wayne locked up, and assaults him. The two have a drawn-out fight, resulting in Wayne's arm getting crushed by a metal cabinet. Before Reggie can kill him, Del shows up, and the two knock him out. After defeating Reggie, the two go into Wayne's car, with Wayne barely retaining consciousness and Del planning on taking him to a hospital. Meanwhile, Cole and Orlando help Cole's new dog give birth, where Wayne's mom and Cole bond. Geller comes back to the police station and discovers Reggie. While driving, Del tries to confess her love for Wayne, but he beats her to it. Suddenly Del's father crashes into them, knocking Del unconscious. They take Del away from Wayne, and Del's father mutilates Wayne's nose in retaliation for biting off his own nose, leaving him to die. An ambulance finds him hours later, still crawling to Del's necklace that she lost on the road. In the end, Wayne is arrested, but keeps her necklace.
Production
Development
On December 7, 2017, it was announced that YouTube had given the production a pilot order. The series was created by Shawn Simmons and will be executive produced by Rhett Reese, Paul Wernick, Greg Coolidge, and Kirk Ward. The pilot episode was set to be written by Simmons and directed by Iain B. MacDonald. Production companies involved with the series were slated to consist of Endeavor Content.[8][9]
On April 23, 2018, it was announced that YouTube had given the production a series order for a first season consisting of ten episodes.[3] On November 19, 2018, it was announced that the series would premiere on January 16, 2019.[10]
Casting
Alongside the pilot order announcement, it was confirmed that Mark McKenna and Ciara Bravo would star in the series.[8] Alongside the announcement of the series order, it was reported that Joshua J. Williams had been cast in a recurring role and that Dean Winters and Mike O'Malley would make guest appearances in the pilot episode.[3]
Filming
Principal photography for the pilot episode took place in Ontario, Canada, and lasted until December 12, 2017.[11] Filming for the rest of the series began on June 11, 2018, in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, and was scheduled to last until August 16, 2018.[12]
Release
Marketing
On September 21, 2018, a teaser trailer for the series was released.[13] On November 19, 2018, the official trailer for the series was released.[10]
Premiere
On September 23, 2018, the series held its world premiere during the second annual Tribeca TV Festival in New York City. Following the screening, a conversation was held featuring members of the cast and crew, including creator Shawn Simmons, actors Mark McKenna and Ciara Bravo, director Iain B. MacDonald, and writers and executive producers Greg Coolidge, Kirk Ward, Rhett Reese, and Paul Wernick.[14]
Reception
Critical response
The series has been met with a positive response from critics since its premiere. On the review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes, the series holds a 100% approval rating with an average rating of 8/10 based on 13 reviews. The website's critical consensus reads, "The most thoughtfully violent series you'll see all year, Wayne is a home run."[15]
In a positive review, IndieWire's Ben Travers awarded the series a grade of "A−" and praised it saying, "Wayne may feel familiar to other stories, Bonnie and Clyde included. But Simmons' thoughtful, engrossing, and altogether joyful new series carves its own path on the cold roads of America’s eastern seaboard."[16] In another encouraging criticism, Screen Rant's Kevin Yeoman commended the series saying, "With its varying tones, stellar lead performances, and great supporting cast, Wayne is much more than the foul-mouthed action-comedy it makes itself out to be. The laughs may be pitch black at times, and the violence is occasionally shocking, but there’s a fascinating and entertaining sweetness woven into every scene that’ll hit you like a blast of rock salt to the heart."[17] In an additional acclamatory critique, Rolling Stone's Alan Sepinwall gave the series a rating of 3½ out of 5 stars and was similarly approving saying, "Both the show and Wayne’s attempts to right the world’s wrongs don’t always work, but they mean well and are rarely dull."[18]
Viewership
Within five days of the series premiere, the first episode had accumulated over 10 million views.[19]
^ abcde"Chapter Nine: Thought We Was Friends". Wayne. Season 1. Episode 9. January 16, 2019. Event occurs at 20:50, 22:01, 22:48, 24:24, 24:38. YouTube Originals. Archived from the original on July 9, 2021. Wayne (2019) s01e09 Episode Script. Retrieved August 11, 2019. McNulty! That's Wayne's mom's name. Maureen McNulty!" "They can't, you know… Del Luccetti?" "Your momma, she starts sucking on that box of wine and all the sudden it's the fucking Legend of Wayne McCullough hour." "You must be Calvin Clay." "We're looking for a boy named Wayne McCullough.
^ ab"Chapter Six: Who Even Are We Now?". Wayne. Season 1. Episode 6. January 16, 2019. Event occurs at 12:11, 25:37, 30:06. YouTube Originals. Archived from the original on July 9, 2021. Wayne (2019) s01e06 Episode Script. Retrieved August 11, 2019. This is Vice Principal Walsh from Alabaster High." "I'm Tom Cole, from Hagler High in Brockton, Massachusetts. It's named after Marvelous Marvin Hagler." "Shut your fucking mouth, Delilah!
^ ab"Chapter Seven: It'll Last Forever". Wayne. Season 1. Episode 7. January 16, 2019. Event occurs at 10:42, 27:48. YouTube Originals. Archived from the original on June 24, 2021. Wayne (2019) s01e07 Episode Script. Retrieved August 11, 2019. …what role the victim, one Bobby Luccetti, played in the incident,…" "My name is Sergeant Stephen Geller.
